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Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The series is broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable network AMC. It premiered on January 20, 2008, and completed its first seven-episode season on March 9, 2008. The show's 13-episode second season premiered on March 8, 2009. A third season premieres in March 2010. Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad revolves around Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher with a teenage son who has cerebral palsy (RJ Mitte), and a pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn). When the already tense White is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he breaks down and turns to a life of crime, producing and selling crystal methamphetamine with his former student, Jesse (Aaron Paul), in a desire to secure his family's financial future while avoiding detection from his DEA agent brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris). Breaking Bad has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and Cranston's performance on the show, and won two Emmy Awards for its first season, and another the following year, a 2nd Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series win for Bryan Cranston. Aaron Paul was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Production The series is set and filmed in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico. The AMC network, on which the series premiered January 20, 2008, originally ordered nine episodes for the first season (including the pilot), but the Writers Guild of America strike limited the production to seven episodes. Lead actor Bryan Cranston stated in an interview that: "The term 'breaking bad' is a southern colloquialism and it means when someone who has taken a turn off the path of the straight and narrow, when they've gone wrong. And that could be for that day or for a lifetime." Chemical Elements in the Credits The credits feature symbols of chemical elements from the Periodic Table in green (for example, the symbols Br and Ba for bromine and barium in 'Br'eaking 'Ba'd). The credits at the beginning of the show usually continue this, with cast members' names usually including one chemical element symbol if appropriate. The opening credits also feature the formula C10H15N which is repeated several times in each frame that it appears. This is the molecular formula for methamphetamine. It indicates that each molecule contains 10 carbon atoms, 15 hydrogen atoms and one nitrogen atom. The number 149.24 is also repeated in the introduction, which is the molecular mass of the methamphetamine compound. Episode Titles Breaking Bad's episode titles typically relate to the events of the episode, a quote from another source, or a common expression. For example, the episode title "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type-Deal" is taken from the movie Fargo, and also reflects how Walt is trying to impose his will on the drug business and hopes not to resort to violence. The episode names of the first, fourth, tenth, and thirteenth episodes of Season Two form a sentence which reveals an event that takes place in the season finale (737 Down Over ABQ). These episodes all include a mysterious opening teaser in black and white, featuring a scorched pink teddy bear floating in Walt's pool. Several episode titles are in Spanish, a reference to Hispanic culture in New Mexico as well as the influence of Mexican drug cartels in the story. Season three titles often consist of something said in the last few minutes of the episode. Viral Promotion An online customizable video was used to promote season one. Users would receive a webcam message from Walt urging them to live their life to the fullest, at the end of which he would score their name from a list. The promotion is still live at www.waltswisdom.com. A viral marketing campaign has also been produced for season two, users can experience meeting Walt from a first-person perspective. The promotion is located at www.waltswarning.com. The charity website set up for Walter White in Season 2 by Walter Jr is also available at www.savewalterwhite.com. Promotion for season three includes an elaborate website devoted to Bob Odenkirk's character "Saul Goodman". The site includes legal advice, fashion tips, customer testimonials and more. It is located at www.bettercallsaul.com.